Warning: Some violence, quite a bit of gory descriptions, and angst up the wazoo. Oh, and there's sex, just a touch.

I Against I

Six days prior

The Earl sent his invitation via the body of Timothy Hearst. The twelve year old was with Miranda when they were attacked. He was killed on the spot, the blue jewel ripped from his forehead while his soul was trapped in an Akuma. Miranda's Time Record prevented the Akuma from disintegrating as they fled back to the Order. Without the jewel the boy's soul couldn't leave, and as Miranda approached her limit he knew it was over. When the time came he thanked everyone, waved goodbye in his good-natured mischief, and crumbled into dust.

The Earl had carved a date and a place into the dead boy's chest. Lenalee called a meeting in the great hall to announce that this was it, the gauntlet had been thrown and they had a week to prepare for it. They were outnumbered and dispirited but there was no way off the path. When the general assembly was over she called the senior Exorcists into Komui's old office, now officially hers and devoid of the mountains of paperwork. To the astonishment of everyone she had only taken two weeks to clean out every single scrap of paper from within. Now the office actually had sofas and chairs and a large table with a tactical map, and a picture of the Lee siblings when they were younger, hanging on the back wall.

The room was surprisingly large once the clutter was gone. Lenalee sat in her brother's chair behind the desk, clipboard ready and quill still wet from signing the (very manageable) pile of forms. The four Generals took up the two couches, with Kanda and Allen in one and Winters Socalo and Klaud Nine in the other. Allen's face was bandaged and bruised, a residual from their last skirmish. The same fight also took one of Socalo's arms along with half of Noise Marie's liver. The blind man, just released from the Infirmary, idly played the strings of Noel Organon with Miranda Lotto beside him wearing her usual frazzled expression. An ancient and tired Bookman took up the only other seat, while Arystar Crowley crouched by the door, not looking at anyone. He had been weeping nonstop since they brought Timothy back, although the sobs had quieted down to an occasional hiccup. No one blamed him for the overwrought emotions; every loss they'd suffered was hard, but the death of children was always the worst.

They were a sorry, defeated bunch and looked it, Kanda thought bitterly. He himself was in pretty bad shape – the fight prior had burnt 60% of his body, gauged out a good chunk of his right lung and left most of his hair in charred bits back on the field. Kanda couldn't remember the last time he had hair shorter than shoulder length, so when he came out of the Infirmary with a cropped soldier cut he was pissed enough to actually break the mirror that revealed it. It probably had frightened a good deal of onlookers – a man shedding blackened skin lashing out at inanimate objects in public was not an easy spectacle to witness. Afterwards he felt so pathetic that he meditated for a day straight, just to stop thinking about his hair and all the rest that was lost with it.

The door swung open as the last of the senior Exorcist rushed in. "Sorry I'm late!" Lavi bowed, giving an apologetic salute to Lenalee as he dashed across the room. "Got caught up by the Science Department."

"What did they want?" murmured Kanda, as the redhead dropped onto the floor by his side of the couch. Lavi only gave him a vague smile as a response.

"Well, now that we're all here," Lenalee stood up from her chair. "Let's get started."

The battle was to take place on an open field 10 miles outside the nearly demolished London. They were to meet at noon, like a proverbial western dual – eight Noahs versus eight Exorcists, with the Earl and Lenalee at the helm. Without the prophetic power of Road the enemy didn't have too much of an advantage, but the real challenge was to get through the millions of Akuma cannons that stood between them. Lenalee didn't have to say it, but they all knew what that meant for the junior Exorcists. Sacrifices had to be made to ensure the persistence of humankind, and aside from the Heart they simply couldn't spare the worry.

They didn't know the enemy's strategy but Lenalee was counting on the Noahs being a loosely tied family unit rather than a well-trained platoon. No matter what the Earl commanded the Noahs were creatures of the moment, and this capriciousness was the key to the Order's victory. It was rare for Noahs to cooperate as much as Jasdero and Devit, and to an extent, Tyki and Sheril. But they were dangerous enough alone. Aside from Kanda and perhaps the older Generals, a one-on-one with a Noah, any Noah, almost certainly spelled suicide. It was solely with this reasoning that partners were assigned for the battle.

"You must be with your partner at all times," Lenalee dictated, scanning the room for dissident opinions. "I am not saying you cannot help others but your partner always comes first, no matter what happens. I know this is very difficult for you, Miranda, but try to stay within Bookman's attack range."

The woman addressed nodded her head vehemently. She, responsible for the endurance of everyone involved, was to remain in the back, protected by twice as many younger Exorcists along with Bookman's support. Kanda didn't know what magic words Lenalee and Allen Walker had used to convince the old man to stay on their side. He could've easily gone over to the other, or simply sat out the entire conflict altogether. Noahs wouldn't bother with him, and the Order had zero jurisdiction over Bookmen affairs. They offered Lavi's head, perhaps? Kanda sneered, a trifle malicious. Or better, his raw, bleeding heart.

He didn't particularly care who he was partnered with. Unlike most of the others he could take on a Noah alone; it would actually be better to give the extra person to protect Miranda. When Lenalee paired his name with the redhead's Kanda wasn't the slightest bit surprised. Lavi, however, had the exact opposite reaction.

"Director, I'm sorry, but I object."

All eyes turned to him, Kanda's included. Lenalee tilted her head, annoyance plain on her face. The position of power had given her a much shorter temper, although she kept it in check well enough. "Lavi," she said, her voice deliberately mild, "we have gone over the assignment many times. The two of you are very well matched ability-wise. This isn't something we came up with on a whim."

"I understand that, Director. It's just…my Hammer hasn't...it's better if Yu has someone on par with him, I don't want to drag him down."

It was true that Lavi's Iron Hammer still hadn't shown any sign of crystallization. The Science Department had gone over the Innocence and discovered that the synchro rate, for whatever reason, hovered just above 90%. It wasn't that huge of a deal – the only other Exorcist who had crystalized Innocence besides Lenalee and Kanda was Miranda. It came as quite a surprise, when out of nowhere the woman began to glow as she was making her way to a table at the cafeteria. They had a food shortage for a week afterwards, her elation translated into a surplus of energy for everyone in the room. Even Jerry could not handle hundreds of people suddenly sporting appetites that rivaled Allen's.

So Lavi wasn't wrong to say that Kanda probably had to spend more effort to protect him. But Kanda would have to do that for anyone, except maybe, as much as he hated to admit, the beansprout Allen. However, General Walker had the all-important duty to protect Director Lee. Lavi's objection would have been almost sound, if everyone didn't already know what had happened at the Bookman ritual, and the general state of things between the two of them.

When the only response was a bellow of Socalo's haughty laughter Lavi tried again. "Look, I know what you're all thinking but it's not because of that. We haven't worked together in years. I haven't seen the last two of his Illusions and he doesn't even know the elements of my new Seals. We are not a good team right now, and this battle shouldn't be a testing ground for our partnership."

"A lot of us haven't worked like this, either," Allen interjected. "You're not the only ones who have to adjust."

"Yeah but you all have been fighting alongside for much longer. The only recent time I've even been on the same fight as Yu was when Komui…we weren't even on the same floor then."

"Then we better get started," Kanda cut in abruptly. He ignored the look Lavi gave him and turned to Lenalee. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

"No," she answered definitively. "You are free to go, General Kanda."

He prodded Lavi with Mugen's tip when he stood up. The redhead sighed, then reluctantly got to his feet.

"Where're we going?"

"Where else? To spar."

"You really didn't have to hit me with that, you know."

Kanda grimaced as the sting of disinfectant soaked into the cut on his back. He heard the tear of gauze behind him, and soon the warm goo of the medicine strip covered the wound. He hissed, missing terribly his old healing speed. The tip of the Iron Hammer had sunken in deep, but if it were even half a year ago the cut would've been a shallow reminder of what it was in a few hours. Now an entire day had passed and blood was still seeping out of what he could only presume to be a nasty laceration. He hadn't looked at it yet and didn't really care to, only hoped it would completely heal in time for the final battle.

"You were the one complaining about never seeing my higher Illusions," Kanda replied, a small smirk on his face.

"I didn't think you'd use it in a sparring match," Lavi pressed the bandages hard enough to make him flinch. "Your lifeline isn't something to be wasted like that, not to mention you could've actually killed me."

"We're both still here."

"That's not the poin – god, never mind." Lavi threw up his hands. Kanda almost felt bad for being difficult. Almost.

"Turn around. I want to see the damage."

"What damage?"

"Your tattoo. I still have the trained eye, Yu. I'll know how much life you've just wasted."

"It won't show," Kanda huffed, annoyed. If Lavi thought he could really see the miniscule changes made from his albeit impulsive decision he was welcomed to try. The movement sent a jolt of pain down his back, but fortunately Kanda could feel a familiar warmth as it began to ebb away. About time, he seethed. Stupid useless curse.

They all had been running grueling drills for the past three days. Allen's unintended wisdom had struck a chord – most of the Exorcists had not worked together this closely, and even though the Innocence match was optimal the teamwork needed much more fine-tuning. Kanda had spent hours getting used to the distance Lavi's new Seals could cover, and Lavi had gotten lightheaded from trying to keep track of the trajectory of Kanda's new projectiles. The seamless partnership they had before was in shambles, so much that Lenalee had forbidden anyone else to train in the same room for fear of the collateral damage from their unpredictable combined powers.

Eventually they arrived at a point where they began to complement each other again. Not nearly as well as Kanda would've liked, but it was sufficient for now. It was why at the end he released his Fifth Illusion without reserve. If Lavi were to be critically injured just from him then they might as well kiss the final battle goodbye.

He should've realized what putting an Exorcist in a real panic meant. Kanda didn't even see the Hammer before it struck him, the usually large monstrosity stretched into a thin, almost invisible needle. It wrapped around, tearing through his back muscle and knocking him flatly out of the air. His energy beams went haywire as he fell, rendering the training room into rubble and caught the attention of everyone within earshot of the boom. He landed on his back, breath knocked out, as chunks of debris rained down in a choking haze.

Kanda didn't remember ever seeing Lenalee so angry. She stomped into the Infirmary where he had lain, immobile from broken bones and reeked of blood and medical tape, and burst into tears while she screamed at his stupidity. When Kanda calmly reminded her that it was Iron Hammer that had put him here, and that Lavi had gotten away with just a dislocated shoulder and a light ankle sprain, Lenalee's face grew cold.

"Oh please, Kanda," she didn't even bother wiping her face. "You baited him with both of your lives. How was he supposed to react?"

Her words echoed in his head as he checked himself out of the Infirmary half a day later. Most of his injuries were beginning to heal except for the stubborn gash on his back. Probably because it was an Innocence-caused wound, which didn't make it any less annoying. He was contemplating on how to change his bandages without twisting his torso too much when there was a knock on his door. Opening it revealed the redheaded Exorcist responsible (in Kanda's mind, at least) with a fresh set of dressings tucked under his arm.

"What do you want?"

"Yu, as much as I admire your resolve, I don't think you can quite grow a third arm and re-bandage your back yourself."

Kanda wanted to punch him for that but what he said had some merit. So they settled on the floor of his room (he didn't want to get blood on his admittedly nice bed), Lavi's back to the footboard and Kanda facing the desk that came with the privilege of a General's quarters. Mugen was the only thing occupying the surface of the desk, though; Kanda had grown to hate parchment and papers even more than the bulbous rage of Akuma, no thanks to the person here right now, wiping his hands on his uniform and staring at the cursed tattoo with a too familiar analytical gaze.

The Sanskrit curse had now spread over most of Kanda's torso. The letter itself had taken on a rich violet hue, darkening into black in an outward gradient. The mimicry brushstroke spiraled, encircling his heart in two huge loops that ended just below his jugular. Tendrils of black fire climbed over his shoulder, curving across the spine and encroaching into the opposite scapula. The lowest spike dipped well past his navel into the waistband of his pants. Kanda had no doubt that one day the tattoo would complete the circle and cover him from head to toe. Perhaps that would be the day he'd truly die.

Lavi stared at him with the neutral expression reserved for recording. The green eye narrowed in concentration, pupil slightly dilated as it followed the path of the tattoo. The vibrant red hair – now long enough to reach halfway down his back – cascaded over his shoulder as he leaned forward, errant strands tickling Kanda's bare chest. Kanda took in a breath. If he just dipped his head he could brush his lips against those fiery curls. It was making his pulse quicken, and wisps of heat began to gather downward, tightening his groin into the beginning of a very ill-timed arousal.

"You're right," Lavi said, the suddenness nearly made Kanda jump. "Doesn't look like it changed at all. Well, at least there's that." The redhead leaned back, and Kanda found that he could breathe properly again. He watched the man absentmindedly flexed his shoulders, oblivious to what had just transpired, and made a motion to stand.

Kanda reached up and grabbed the bony wrist. He was fully expecting Lavi to jerk away, adhering to the push-and-pull pattern the two of them had since established. But Lavi was either too tired or truly off-guard. His lack of resistance and Kanda's over-adjusted strength sent him flying backwards, toppling over and landing right into the swordsman's lap.

There was the unavoidable scrambling to re-find balance and squirming out of the clumsy embrace with one hand awkwardly held at an angle and the other barely finding purchase on the space between the footboard and the desk. There was also the inevitable holding, shifting, and seizing that ended with them on the floor in a breathless tangle. But Kanda's wound flared up at the wrong moment and the pain loosened his grip enough for Lavi rolled out from under him. The redhead got to his knees, poised to bolt but Kanda reached out and grabbed ahold of him once again.

"Stop running," Kanda breathed, feeling the tremor that went through Lavi's body. "I'm tired of chasing you. Just how long do you plan to keep this up?"

"Well," Lavi said with forced levity, "the world might end the day after tomorrow, so, two more days?"

Kanda scoffed in response. He leaned forward, and before Lavi could say anything else, claimed the lips that had evaded him ever since the time back in Komui's office. They had been playing this stupid game of pretense for far too long. Now that he'd finally got Lavi where he wanted he was not going to let go.

He kissed until they were both completely out of breath before breaking it off. Lavi's lips were swollen, eye darting around like a trapped animal. Kanda adjusted his grip, just so he could lift a free hand to cup the redhead's jaw.

"What're you afraid of?" he asked softly. "That I'd fuck you? Use you?" A pause. "That I'd hurt you?"

The redhead took in a shaky breath and closed his eye. When he opened it again Kanda saw resignation and a hint of a long lost spark. Lavi shifted, turning to straddle his lap and inadvertently giving swordsman a solid feel of the hardness between his legs. Kanda blinked. His hands dropped down to the curve of the redhead's back, fingers lingering at the hem of the shirt.

"Idiot," Lavi mimicked his mantra. "No."

"Then why?"

Lavi leaned forward and put his head on Kanda's shoulder. His breath was warm on Kanda's ear as he whispered, so quietly that the swordsman barely heard. "Because I might die, Yu. Really, truly die. Back when I was in Noah's hands I asked for death, thought it was nothing compared to what I was going through. But ever since I've been back there's just been so much death, so much grief that I – I've seen what it does to the living. I can't leave you like that, Yu. I won't leave you like that."

It took a great deal of restraint for Kanda not to strangle the man in his arms. Lavi was stupider than he'd ever expected, so stupid that Kanda would've killed him if he didn't want to fuck him so badly right then. "Unbelievable," he gritted out the words, feeling Lavi stiffen in his lap. "Just unbelievable. Did it ever occur to you, in that shit brain of yours, that what you're so fucking terrified of happening already had? What the fuck did you think my past three years had been?!"

At that he abruptly stood up and bodily hauled the redhead onto the bed. Before Lavi had time to react he quickly crawled on top of him and pressed his mouth down once more onto the parted lips. Their tongues intertwined, hot and wet, as Kanda ground his hips down onto the redhead's very present erection. They continued to kiss and touch and feel each other like they had, long ago, when things were simpler and the world hadn't burnt through its hope like a bomb fuse. Kanda trailed his mouth down the pale neck, vaguely aware of Lavi's murmuring and the pulsing of blood in his temples.

"I'm sorry," Lavi threw his head back onto the already rumpled sheets. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for it. I'm sorry, Yu."

Too little, too late, Kanda thought. The stiff shirt collar was getting in his way, so he grabbed a hold of the fabric and with a rough yank, tore the shirt straight down the middle. Buttons scattered all over, rolling off the bedspread and landing on the floor in a clatter. Lavi flinched and instinctively started to cover himself with his hands. Kanda frowned. It wasn't as if they hadn't seen each other naked before. All the tortuous confessions aside, he had never thought of Lavi as a prude about his physicality, no matter what his emotional state had been.

Then his gaze fell onto the body in front of him, and he immediately saw why.

It was one thing to read descriptions and peruse photographs and another entirely to look at the actual scars spreading across spans of skin. From just above the collarbone down past the hips there was not an un-marred inch on Lavi's body. Nasty gashes and burn marks peppered throughout, some a raised peel and other healed over blisters in various shades of brown and white. A single jagged scar ran from his left shoulder all the way to the upper right hip. It was a reminder of the cavity being crudely torn open, muscle and tissue spilling out in a gruesome bloom, barely held together to keep in the viscera. His navel was one massive cigarette burn, with smaller spots trailing down to the pubic region. When he unbuttoned the white pants it revealed a massive web of crisscrossing scars spread on Lavi's thighs, rough to the touch and repulsive enough to make Kanda look away in disgust.

Details from the reports resurfaced in Kanda's mind. They had put a knife in him here, forever impeding the turn of his left wrist. They shoved a searing hot brand there, where the lump of scar tissue still resembled the shape of the poker. Tyki had shaved off slices from organs and Sheril had broken every single rib from simply stretching the muscles until the bones caved in. It rightfully astonished Kanda that they didn't pull off Lavi's fingernails, had left his nipples and genitalia intact, and never once subjected him to sexual assault. The whims of the Noahs, Kanda supposed, and a sign that somewhere, someone cared enough to grant a pittance of mercy.

When he looked back at Lavi's face all he saw was a desperate attempt to smile. "Figured we'll get here sooner or later," the redhead said. "I was hoping at least the lights'll be off when we do, yeah?"

Kanda only shook his head. To see the entirety of Lavi's scars right away meant they had fewer secrets to trudge through later, something Kanda distinctly preferred. He ran his fingers down the length of Lavi's torso, hands spreading to pull the redhead up in a loose embrace. When he reached the back his fingertips grazed against a string of rough nodes alongside the dip of the spine. From the feel of it the pattern was uniform, and the gasp it drew from Lavi's lips when he pressed them was something of concern.

"What's this?" Kanda asked. He didn't remember anything in the report about it, and it was too surgical to be something Lavi had recently acquired without his knowing.

Lavi's smile more resembled a grimace. "Scars. Just like all the others – ow, not so hard. Noahs didn't do it, though. This is 100% Science Division's work – Yu, I said not so hard! – to get the parasites out, you know?"

What Lenalee had said the first day outside Komui's office came back to him. He had seen the machines but never really thought about their permanence until now. He traced his fingers up and down the spinal length, hearing Lavi's breath catch as he did. There was a steady thrum beneath the skin like the vibration from an electrical instrument. It took him a minute to realize he was feeling the rush of blood pulsing through the veins.

"Do they still hurt?" he asked.

"Unless you pinch them, no. They're mostly healed but I was told they could burst from too much trauma and I might bleed out. Kinda hard to avoid in our line of work, but, well, I'll sure try."

"…Flip over."

Lavi hesitated, but in the end did what was asked. There were two broken lines running down each side of his spine column, similar to a stitching pattern on clothing. The top and bottom were tapered into triangular ends, stopping right below the hairline and above the tailbone. Kanda narrowed his eyes. He thought about the pain it must've caused as the blades slowly rolled down Lavi's back, and felt his hands reflexively curl into fists.

"Relax, Yu, they saved my life," Lavi said, perfectly aware of his actions. "They're sturdier than you think. I mean your Fifth Illusion didn't even pop them, I doubt most Akumas could."

Kanda gently touched the black, even bars, reminiscent of ink drawings save for its smooth texture. It was warm to the touch and throbbed lightly to the beat of Lavi's heart. He pressed his thumb to the lower arrowhead and Lavi moaned. Kanda leaned down, starting a trail of kisses up the spine, nipping and licking and watched the redhead predictably started to squirm.

"Yu, now you're just being a…terrible…tease…mmh…"

Lavi's half-hearted protests subsided to muffled noises as he gave into the sensation. Kanda felt his cock stiffen against the arching back, intimate and warm and intoxicating. He gave the spine one more lick before flipping him back around. He kicked off his own pants – the last shred of clothing left between the two of them – and settled himself between the parted legs.

Everything after was as clumsy as expected of two people years out of practice. It was messy and slow and truth be told, a lot less arousing than Kanda wanted it to be. But in the end it had ceased to matter when he buried himself inside his lover's body. As they fall in and out of the familiar rhythm, Lavi's panting breath next to his ear and scarred skin rubbing against his own smooth, flawless body, Kanda, for the first time in three and a half years, felt glad to be alive.

Kanda woke up to an empty bed and sunlight streaming through the window. It took him a second to remember why he was squished against the wall with only half of the covers, but when he did the memory brought an almost imperceptible smirk to his lips. He stretched, feeling an ache down his back. The cut still hadn't quite healed but it was significantly better than the day before.

He could hear the trickling sound of water behind the door to the bath. He had taken a shower the night before but Lavi had passed out right after their second round. Kanda didn't blame him; if his wound hadn't started bleeding he would've never gotten out of bed himself. The comforters were a little sullied by his blood, but everything needed to be washed anyway, so it didn't make that much of a difference.

He stretched for a moment before swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and padding naked across the room. When he opened the bathroom door hot steam and the sound of humming flowed out from the shower. Lavi liked to pick up folks songs on his travels, and Kanda always found this musical quirk of his a rare charming trait. He turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on his face. The humming trailed off, replaced by a cheerful greeting from behind the bath curtains.

"Good morning, Yu," Kanda could practically hear the grin. "Did you sleep ok? Nothing's hurting, I hope."

"Shouldn't that be my question?"

A chuckle. "Well, it's not like you've had sex all this time either."

"…That obvious?"

"Uh, yeah."

Kanda was going to give a nasty remark about whose fault it was but a loud pounding from outside interrupted their banter. He swore under his breath, wondering who it could be at this early hour, then immediately chided himself for being complacent. The world might end the day after tomorrow, of course there'd be a slew of business waiting for a General like him.

The shower shut off and the curtain was pulled back. Under the incandescent bulb Lavi's scars were no less ghastly but more subdued. As he stared Kanda finally felt the facts sink in. His lover had gone through hell and back, but despite everything he was now standing in front of him, wet from his shower and smelled of his soap, and giving him that familiar smile once again.

The pounding outside rudely interrupted Kanda's thoughts. "What?" He yelled toward its direction, beyond irritated as he stalked back into the bedroom. Haphazardly he pulled on a clean pair of underwear and pants, then violently jerked the outer door open.

He was met by a startled Allen Walker in full uniform. "The fuck you want, moyashi?" Kanda growled, sending death stares toward the short General.

"Geez, someone sure woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Allen eyed him warily. "If I didn't know any better I'd say I've interrupted something more important than saving the world."

Kanda made a motion to slam the door but Allen grabbed a hold of the wood before he could. "Lenalee just called for a briefing. I'm supposed to tell you and get you over there. I don't know why she thought you needed a chaperon but – whoa, what happened to your bed? And your room?"

Allen took a step to cross the threshold but Kanda blocked him with an outstretched arm. The swordsman gave Allen a pointed look, and realization dawned as the white-haired boy let out an unnecessarily loud exclamation. He pointed a finger at Kanda's nose, stammering nonsense as a flush rose to his cheeks. The theatrics made Kanda reflexively reach for Mugen. Unfortunately the weapon was still sitting in its scabbard on his desk, despairingly out of reach.

"Whah you, you got laid! Holy smokes you actually - of course the day before we all go off to die you – who is it? Is he still here – wait," Allen suddenly blanched. "Oh no. Oh. No. Don't tell me it's –"

He walked into Kanda's arm. When it didn't budge Allen rolled his eyes and slipped under, fully utilizing his lack of height advantage. Kanda made a second grab but the Innocence arm easily deflected the attempt. Kanda cursed and kicked the door closed. It was useless to stop Allen now but he could at least keep an entire hall of passersby from peeking into his now inconveniently no-longer-private affairs.

The bathroom door swung open before Allen could cross to it, revealing Lavi with his eyepatch in place and dressed in one of Kanda's shirts. The white-haired boy groaned, to Kanda's puzzlement, his normal hand shot up to cover half his face.

"Well, good to see you too, Allen," Lavi threw the man a wide grin before turned toward Kanda. "Hope you don't mind me borrowing a few of your things, Yu, since mine are kind of in pieces. And judging from that soul-crushing disappointment – you just lost the lot, didn't you?"

"I was this close," Allen lamented. "This. Close. Really, you couldn't wait just one more day?"

"It's not like I'm the only one who has a say," Lavi drawled, and watched in amusement as Allen's face turned even redder than he thought possible.

"What the fuck are you two idiots talking about?" Kanda snapped. He disliked being left out of a conversation, although from what he had gleaned he suspected he would like the subject matter even less.

"A bet, Yu," Lavi said, rummaging through the mess on the floor for his pants. "A really predictable but awfully large bet. Been around since I came back, I think. Half the Order thought we'd be screwing each other silly before a week's up, the other half didn't. Started out a small pot but, how much is in it now?"

"More than enough," Allen grumbled. "And it wasn't half, okay? I don't know anyone who's still holding out for you, except maybe Lenalee. Gosh, I've never lost against such small odds before. If Master were still here he'd probably kill me."

Kanda felt an annoying tick starting in his right temple. "Moyashi, are you telling me that, there's a lot on whether we'd fuck before the end of the world and you, of all people, had bet against us?"

"Stupid Kanda," Allen tsked, unamused. "Of course I did. You acted like he was poison and he acted like you were the plague, anyone with eyes would do the same. What happened? No details, mind you, but didn't you two mortally wound each other in training just yesterday?"

"I wouldn't call it 'mortally' but yeah, pretty much," Lavi answered. "And really, there's not much else to it. Guess Yu just knows the way into a man's heart."

"Well, to be fair, it wasn't your heart I was trying to get into."

Lavi burst into laughter the same time Allen groaned loudly about hoping to never hear things like this ever again. It felt surreal, the three of them sharing a moment like this on the brink of Judgement Day. Kanda wasn't entirely sure that the tension wasn't getting to their heads. But his heart was strangely calm, and in the back of his mind a voice was telling him that it was okay. That everything was fine, for once. They deserved this moment, this respite, however brief and ephemeral, before the start of the fall.

"Kanda," Allen cleared his throat. "We should get going. Lenalee's waiting."

"You're just afraid of getting kicked out if you piss her off," Kanda replied, blithely ignoring Allen's subsequent outburst and choice protest. He walked to his closet and pulled out a fresh uniform. It wasn't until he noticed Lavi's lack of input that he became aware of the room's sudden silence. He turned and saw Lavi standing motionless by his desk, an open-mouthed shock on his face.

Kanda immediately tensed. "What's the matter?"

"Yu…Look."

Lavi slowly turned toward him. In his outstretched hand lay what should have been the miniscule form of Iron Hammer. However, the familiar toy-like presence of the Innocence was absent. In its place sat a gelatinous, inky cube, shimmering and flickering with the sunlight. Kanda's eyes widened. He exchanged a glance with Allen, who was trying hard to keep a growing excitement from spilling over. Lavi's hands shook as he held onto his transforming Innocence, a single bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face.

"Heh," the redhead's voice trembled. "If I knew that I only had to sleep with you to get the damn thing going I'd have done that months ago."

"And kill the bet early?" Kanda deadpanned, drawing a faltering smile from the other man. "Quit dawdling, moron. Drink it. It is long overdue."

Lavi swallowed. Slowly he brought his hand to his lips. Kanda kept his distance. It wasn't like he was unfamiliar with the process, but the Iron Hammer had always been notoriously unpredictable, and Kanda's self-preservation instinct had kicked in full gear. He reached over to grab Mugen off his desk, stance defensive as Lavi gave the cube a curious yet mistrustful glare, before putting it inside his mouth.

He ingested the black cube in a single slimy swallow. When nothing ominous seemed to happen Kanda saw relief and confusion flooded Lavi's face. The redhead looked between them, a question on his lips but was abruptly interrupted when a wheezing gasp escaped his throat. A violent cough followed as he choked on the black liquid spilling out of his mouth. Kanda watched in horror as Lavi dropped to his knees and clawed at the eyepatch, just moments before the dead white eye burst open with a splatter of dark red.

Allen let out a cry and started to run toward Lavi's side, but Kanda reflexively grabbed his shirt. Allen yelped as he was tugged backwards. When he regained his footing he scowled at Kanda with an intense accusatory glare.

"Kanda, what're you doing? Let me go!"

"Stay put, Walker! There's no telling what'll happen if you touch him."

"Are you kidding me? He's in agony and his blood is black! We need to get him to the Infirmary right away!"

"Kanda is right, Allen-san," an aged voice said behind them. Kanda spun around, dragging along the surprised Allen to see Bookman standing by the room's entrance. In the commotion none had heard the hallway door open. "I would stay away from him until the process is complete."

Kanda was about to challenge the old man's authority when a loud moan interrupted his inquiry. The redhead was curled into himself, half delirious from pain. Rivets of blood seeped from his body, drawn from the re-opened wounds and pumping with the beat of his heart. An inky slime oozed out of his bleeding eye socket and congealed into a thick glob. It swirled and spread, sticky as tar, into the cracks on the floor.

"It hurts," Lavi moaned, his entire body shook with agony. "God, it hurts!"

"The Innocence is purging his body from all influences of Noah," Bookman explained placidly. "The Science Division had done a commendable job expunging the parasites, but machines still have their limits. The remaining traces must be cleansed before a proper Crystallization could begin."

"What the hell are you doing here, old man?" Kanda snapped. He moved to draw Mugen but Allen forced down his hand.

"No need for theatrics," the old man walked forward, unperturbed. "I am here to see my former pupil fulfilling his potential. Nothing more."

He stopped a few steps away from Lavi, careful to not touch any spilled blood. A heavy black steam rose from the slowly churning pool, sizzling with invisible sparks as the color of the liquid gradually began to lighten. Lavi dug his nails into the floorboard, his disparately clear green eye stared intensely as a nebulous ball began to form in its center. Slowly it crept upwards, stretching like malleable clay as it absorbed the blood beneath. A thin stalk formed, no thicker than a pen, while the very top suddenly swelled into the shape of a hammerhead, and shot through the ceiling with a deafening crash.

Allen thrust up his activated arm, opening it like an umbrella to catch the falling myriad of stones and metal. Bookman didn't move from his spot, although Kanda could see light bending around him in a barrier. No doubt it was from the Heavenly Compass, but exactly what it was doing was beyond the swordsman's care.

He made it to Lavi's side just as the other slumped forward. The Hammer wobbled, teetering dangerously on its hairpin balance. Lavi's head snapped up just as it began to fall. He raised a hand in its direction, fingers twitching in a grasping motion as if he could bridge the distance with his thoughts alone.

It, surprisingly, worked. The Hammer stilled, swinging back into place as its head flattened into a disc against the crumbling ceiling. The stone and metal groaned against its weight. Cracks that fractured the foundation crept through the walls, while chunks of debris fell into the palm of Allen's Innocence. Kanda could hear people shouting outside. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a large slab of stone had blocked the entrance, but he was too busy trying to calm the panicking man in his arms to look properly at the wreck.

There was a loud, decisive boom as the eastern wall split halfway in two, then everything suddenly ceased their movements. In the strained quietness of the aftermath Lavi's labored breaths became the loudest sound in the room. Allen's eyes roamed back and forth, watchful for any signs of relapse. Bookman simply waited with his shield still activated. Kanda kneeled on the blood-slick floor, arms loosely wrapped around Lavi as the redhead waited, wary of the Innocence's instability, before exhaustion finally took over. He collapsed against Kanda's shoulder with a long, relieved sigh.

"Wow, Yu. Was your Crystallizations also this crazy?"

"No, just yours, idiot," Kanda answered. "I should've dragged you outside before you even touched that fucking thing."

"Sorry about your room, and your shirt. I really didn't expect it to be this bad."

"Oh you're going to be a lot sorrier when I'm done with –"

"Kanda!" Allen cut in. "I really think we should get him to the Infirmary now."

Lavi did look like he was barely holding onto consciousness. Kanda ran a hand down his back and came away with bright red palms. "Shit," he cursed, gently pulling Lavi to his feet. Those black nodes near the spine were probably torn open along with the rest of the redhead's old scars. Kanda didn't forget what was said about them the night before. Allen, for once, was rightly to be worried.

Bookman, however, was standing impassively between them and the blocked door, looking as calm as ever. "Move, old man," Kanda commanded, patience wearing thin. He could see people chiseling at the rock from outside, trying to squeeze the medical equipment in.

"He has lost quite a bit of blood," Bookman said. "You should let me take a look."

"The hell I'm going to let you touch –"

"Yu," Lavi interrupted him. "He's right. Whatever happened between Noah and the Innocence inside me probably wreaked havoc on my system. His Needles could help, a lot."

Reluctantly Kanda acquiesced, because Lavi had a point and it looked like it would take them a while to get out of the room anyway. Bookman walked up to his former pupil, needles ready as he slid his old gnarled fingers against the redhead's wrist for the pulse. Behind them Allen gingerly dropped the rubble he was holding into a corner. Lavi watched, face unreadable, only letting out a hiss when the first needle pierced into a pressure point on his neck.

"How'd you know this was going to happen?" the student asked his former master. "Even I have given up on it, and certainly didn't think it'll be today of all days."

"Some events are written in stone, my boy," Bookman stated. "Once a certain point has passed it is futile to go against the tide. Had your heart been fragile you would've perished from the Innocence's Judgment. Despite being a false reason," he glanced at Kanda. "I am glad to see that he had not failed you."

The two Exorcists openly stared as the old man continued his leisurely pace, inserting the thin needles in a controlled flourish. Color was slowly coming back to Lavi's cheeks, and Kanda could feel tendrils of warmth returning to the hand he was holding. The ceiling crackled and popped, but the Hammer held steady.

It was Lavi who asked the evident question. "But…why did you go through with it if you knew?"

"I am a Bookman," the aged man explained, his voice mild. "I do what I must. Even if it causes pain, if it meant the world would stand a better chance to survive through its history, then it shall be. You simply had a different path, despite my efforts. It is regrettable, for your mind is extraordinary, but I do not wish you ill." He looked around at the three men. "Do not waste the life that so many had tried and failed to destroy. This applies to all of you."

"Not really our call, old man," Kanda said.

"Ah, but that is where you are wrong, Kanda," chided Bookman. "It is always your call."

to be continued...